
Hep on ot t W (^J.2XfC(l2^ Vvow^./ ' . 




Book. ^<S_ 



i^ E :e^ o K/ T 



OF DEI.KfJATES FROM THB 



§tmxnl %\)i ^ocietu for t|t Jrmg, 



.A.T BXIFIF-A-LO, IST. "^ . 



TO VISIT THE GOVERNMENT HOSPITALS, 



AND THK AC;EXCIES OF THH 



UNITED STATl^;s S\N1TARY rOMMISSION. 



B>^ KKY. GEORGE W. HOSMEE, D. D. 



BUFFALO : 
FRANKLIN STEAM PRINTING HOUSB, 



THOUAS, TYrOCEAPHBB 
1862 



.t3u 



C^omntissioncrs o): i\u United ^tatc,^ ^iinitaiiiT (Eommission, 

Under aj'pointment from the President of the United Stales. 



The Rev. Henrv W. Bellows, D. D., New York. 

Prof. A. D. Baciie, LL. D., Washington. 

George W. Cullum, U. S. A., Washington. 

Alexander E. Siiiras, U. S. A., Washington. 

Robert C. Wood, M. D., U. S. A., Washington. 

William H. Van Buren, M. D., New York. 

WoLcoTT GiBBs, M. D., New York. 

Samuel G. Howe, M. D., Boston. 

Cornelius. R. Agnew, M. D., New York. 

Klisha Harris, M. D., New York. 

J. S. Newberry, M. D., Cleveland. 

George T. Strong, New York. 

Horace Binney, Jr., Philadelphia. 

The Right Rev. Thos. M. Clark, D. D., Providence, Rhode Island. 

The Hon. Joseph Holt, Kentucky. 

R. W. Burnett, Cincinnati. 

The Hon. Mark Skinner, Chicago. 

Frederick Law Olmsted, New York. 



TO THE I^E;J^IDEI^. 



I undertook this work that we might know what to say to suspicions, rumors, 
charges of neglect in the work of the U. S. Sanitary Commission, and of misappli- 
cation and abuse of goods. I desired to make a fair, thorough examination. I had 
every facility afforded me by the officers and agenfs of the Commission; their 
ofiBces and liooks were opened to me, — and the Surgeon General and Medical Direc- 
tors of Hospitals gave me every needed helj), that I might see just what the Com- 
mission is doing to aid the Government in the care and relief of sick and wounded 
noldiera. 



J 









EEPOKT. 



The United States Government li:is forty-seven hospitals for its 
sick and wounded soldiers in aad al)out Washington, Georgetown, 
and Alexandria. These hospitals are in a great variety of build- 
ings, hotels, eollegiate edifices, private mansions, churches, a ware- 
house, the Patent Office, the CajDitol. The number of patients in 
each is according to the capacity and accommodation: in the 
forty-seven hospitals are about 20,000 men. At and around Fred- 
erick, Md., tem})orary shelter and hospitals have been provided 
for about 6,000 patients too sever(5ly wounded, or too sick to be 
removed from the late battle lields to distant hospitals. In all 
the U. S. hospitals. East and West, there are at the present time 
about 50,000 patients. 

I spent live days in and around Washington visiting hospitals, 
observing the methods of managemeiit, and the condition of the 
patients. I had every facility afforded me by the Surgeon Gen- 
eral, and by officers in command. I am ha})py to say that in 
general the patients are made more comfortable than might seem 
possible. ISTearly all the hospitals are large and airy — great 
rooms, ample halls, and many with gardens and surrounding 
grounds. There was never before such a sick room as the ro- 
tunda in the Capitol, in which lie nearly three hundred patients, 
and four hundred more in the Senate Chamber and House of Rep- 
resentatives. Every patient in all the hospitals which I visited, 
lies upon a cot bedstead, not upon the floor, and in general the 
bed clothes, and the clothes upon the patients, were decently 
clean. 

I saw poor sufferers just from the battle fields of Maryland, 



covered with the dust and smoke and stain and blood of battle ; 
but in two hours they were washed and clothed in clean shirts 
and drawers, and had food and the attention of nurses and sur- 
geons. Cases of terrible suffering there are in all the hospitals, 
and must be — amputations, exsections, painful wounds, lan- 
guishing sickness, — and death coming to poor fellows far away 
from home and friends; but the care and the nursing are as much, 
and as tender as could be expected. 

The food furnished by the Government is too hard and heavy 
ibr invalids, and great quantities of lighter and more palatiible 
food are needed in the hospital. 

In clothing and feeding and caring for all these thousands of 
sick and wounded men, the U. S. Sanitary Commission have 
greatly aided the Government, doing what it could not do, and is 
working out a noble munificence, writing for itself, on the hearts 
of suffering thousands, a grand histor}'. 

This Commission arose soon after the rebellion broke out. It 
was a volunteer to aid the Government in saving the life of our 
soldiers, and relieving their sufferings. It is composed of eighteen 
gentlemen of eminent position and character. Three of them are 
of the U. S. Armj^, five physicians, two clergymen, four lawyers 
aud statesmen, and four men of science — of many States, and of 
various religious denominations. The Eev. Dr. Bellows, of New 
York, is President of the Board, and the whole Board, with the 
exception, perhaps, of the Secretary, gives all its service gratuit- 
ously. This central Board have chosen many associate members 
from all the Union States. 

This Commission strives to collect and give supplies to hospi- 
tals for the sick and wounded. Its woi'k has become very gTeat. 
According to its books, its average daily receipt and disburse- 
ment for the last month, "West and East and South, was nearly 
one hundred and seventy-five cases or boxes, each one on the 
average containing one hundred and fifty articles, making 26,250 ; 
and these articles on the average are worth sixty-two and a half 
cents at least, so that the value of the goods which have passed 
through the agencies of the Commisson each day for the last 
month, has been at least $16,405 : and for the month, $492,150. 



Then, besides the hospital goods in cases, the Commission buys 
large quantities of prepared food, stock beef, concentrated soup, 
desiccated vegetables ; $20,000 worth at one time was bought in 
New York, and sent to Antietam, Md. Says the President of the 
Commission: "Within a week we dispatched successfully, by 
leams, to the scene of battle, from Washington alone, 28,763 
pieces dry goods, shirts, towels, bed-ticks, pillows, &c., thirty bar- 
rels bandages, old linen, &c., 3,188 pounds Ihrina, &;c., 2,620 
pounds condensed milk, 5,050 })ounds beef-stock and canned 
meats, 3,000 bottles wine and cordials, and several tons ol' lemons 
and other fruit, crackers, tea, sugar, rubber-cloth, tin cups, and 
hospital conveniences. California has sent us a magnificent dona- 
lion. But it would be a prodigious mistake to withhold the 
money liberality of our older cities on that account. If our usual 
income from the wealth of the Nortli were cut ofY by this gi-eat 
windfall, San Francisco would prove, in three months, our ruin 
instead of our support. Send in then, steadily, supplies and 
money ! Only a gTeat accumulation of both can give us the con- 
fidence to act with the energy and liberality which are the condi- 
tions of our Inunaile success." 

It will be seen at once that so large a business, made up of so 
many items, and coming together from so many places, must be 
managed methodically and with thoroughness, or great waste and 
loss nmst be ; and there are stories about goods sold at auction 
on tlie way, and piles of goods at Washington Avasting and exposed 
to depi'edation. There is an excellent method and a thorough 
business energy in caiTying it out. Jlicre is exact care, supers'is- 
ion, and book-keeping. I think there is no large business firm in 
Buffalo that conducts its affairs with a more careful metliod than 
does this Sanitary Commission. I looked through their books, 
and went to see the whole operation of their method. T saw 
theii- depots, and their agents, at Washington ; and by tlu' way, 
I felt ashamed, when I saw these agents, so capable, so faithful, 
many of them superior men, nobly giving their services for small 
remuneration, or even gratuitously; to think of suspicions enter- 
tained, and rumors in circulation ; — I saw the goods in every step 
of their transit, and I say it is impossible that there should be much 



loss or waste of goods, while passing from the homes of the givers 
to the hospitals and battle fields where the sick and wounded are. 

This is the method at Washington. The Aid Society at Buf- 
falo, for instance, prepares ten cases of goods, marks them for 
Washington, and sends them by Express. A letter is sent to 
Washington to inform the Commission of the sending of the cases 
and of their marks and contents. This letter is received at Wash- 
ington, and copied into a book. An agent witli his eye upon this 
book, watches arrivals of goods at the railroad, and sees to the 
removal of all that come to the Commission's warehouse ; and if 
all do not appear, the coming of wliich has been notified, the agent 
causes them to be looked after ; and only one box out of 25,000 
is known to bo lost ! The agent at the railroad keeps his book. 
Then the agent at the warehouse keeps a set of books, in which it 
appears what has arrived, and the cases are generally repacked, 
and put in order to be sent out, and these are carried to the dis- 
bursing depot, and the agent there enters them upon his books ; 
now these several books are brought together at the main office, 
checking and balancing each other ; and every morning a printed 
schedule sheet is filled out sliowing goods on hand, what, and how 
much, of each and every article. 

And now every day the requisitions come into the ofiiee from 
the surgeons of hospitals, camjDs, regiments, or medical dii'ectors 
on battle fields. Tlie doors of the Commission are open to all, 
and they gi'ant goods to fill these requisitions, so far as they can, 
unless they have reason for suspecting the wisdom of the requisi- 
tion. So the goods go out every day to fill these requisitions, to 
load vessels with supplies for distant hospitals, at Fortress Monroe, 
or further South, and to meet the cases of individual suffering 
that come every day to the ofiiee. The goods go out as fast as 
they come from week to week. 

An hour in that central ofiiee of the Commission makes an era 
in one's life. A father and mother from New England, whose 
son has been wounded at Antietam, are in pursuit of the sufierer, 
and come to inquire the best route for them, and where they shall 
be most likely to find their son. The agents of the Commission, 



who are passing to and fro on the army's track, can give the intel- 
ligence so much longed for. Here is a medical inspector, just 
from the bloody fields of Maryland, where he lias seen terrible 
suffering, and assisted in relieving it. A mother from "Western 
New York would go to her wounded son in Virginia ; wearied 
with her journey, her money gone, her heart oppressed with anx- 
iety, she is kindly advised, and hel}ied forward on her way. 

Meantime requisitions are coming in from hospital and camp. 
Ilere comes a requisition for a certain hospital, and the earnest 
person who brings it, says, " you must give us all we ask for, be- 
cause you have done nothing for our institution." ''But,'' says 
the agent in the office, "I think you are mistaken," — and he looks 
in a large book, and reads the record of disbursements to that hos- 
pital, — just how many, and how much at each time, and when, — 
all showing the thorough business method, and the watchful care 
to deal out impartially. A vessel in the river is being loaded 
with stores for hospitals at the South, and there is consultation, 
and good heed to send aboard such articles as will be most useful 
in the warm climate. And meantime, many sick, wounded, 
broken down soldiers come in ; they have been separated from 
their regiments in the disorganization of battle, and perhaps re- 
treat, as at Bull Run ; they have no money, their clothes are worn 
out, or they have no change of gai'ments, and indeed have no 
place to lay their heads. The Commission supply their need, and 
send them to an institution they call The Home, which they sup- 
port. It is in Washington , witli buildings large enough to shelter 
some huncbeds, — and beds, and board, and proper care, and medi- 
cal advice, and. medicine, are furnished, — and when the invalids 
are healed or invigorated, they are put in relation with the Gov- 
ernment officers, and by them sent to their regiments. Tlicse in- 
valid soldiers are coming and going, — more than a hundi-ed, on 
the average, are resting, and being cured of theii' ailments, every 
day. So sufieiing is relieved, and lives saved, and soldiers recov- 
ered and sent back to the army. 

Now, looking back to the deliveiy of these goods, it may be 
asked, What more do we know about them? The Commission 



8 

Tiave given them out in tlieir best discretion, but are they not 
wasted in the hospitals, camps, or on the battle fields? Possibly 
they are sometimes; possibly some wretch may have got a place 
in a hospital, and sold a shirt to a poor sick wounded soldier, or 
eaten up a pot of jelly that charity has sent to suli'ering patients. 
There may be some such cases, but who can believe they are 
frequent? The Commission do all they can to pi'cvent such mean 
stealing. 

The work o[ the Connjiission is not conlined to this gathering 
and deli\Try of goods. Perhaps even a greater service they are 
doing for the sick and wounded by their medical and sanitary in- 
spection of camps and hospitals. From the beginning they have 
had sixteen medical inspectors, men of professional ability, who 
Imve spent all their time in passing Iroin cam]) to camp, and hos- 
pital to hospital. They are provided with a printed list of one 
hundred and eighty questions, all about the hospital or camp, 
position, diet, supplies, surgeons, nurses, cleanliness, economy of 
means, &c., and these lists, filled out with answers to the questions, 
are sent to the main office, and if they report gross abuse, or want 
of iidelit}-, the case is at once laid before the Surgeon General. 

Does this do any good? A few days ago one of these medical 
inspectors rej)orted at the office that in a certain hospital he saw 
the surgeon l}nng drunk on a settee, and ].>atients suffering for 
proper care. The report went at once to the Surgeon General ; 
that very night the delinquent was summoned to appear before 
his superior the next moniiug, and was found guilty and dis- 
missed from service; and most probably wherever he be, is re- 
porting mischievous stories about the Sanitar}'- Commission, as a 
"maelsti'om of munificence" and an "impertinent meddler." 

So important have these services of the medical inspectors 
proved, that the Commission have determined to greatly increase 
this part of their work; they have sought the service of about 
forty surgeons and physicians among the most eminent of our 
country — jn'ofessors in medical colleges and distinguished physi- 
cians. Tliese gentlemen are to give a part of their time to this 
inspection of hospitals and camps, and the Connnission intend to 



9 

have eighteen of these eminent men eonsUmtly inspecting, in ad. 
dition to the sixteen who have been at work, for the next six 
months. 

It is easy to see that such inspectors will greatly aid the faitii- 
ful surgeons, many of wliom are young and inexperienced — and 
those who arc unfaithful, incompetent, intemperate, will be dis- 
covered and exposed by these men, whose age and reputation will 
make tlieir word final judgment. This is a most important part 
of the Commission's work. 

I have taken pains to inquire of soldiers, chaplains, ollicers and 
surgeons, what they knew, and what they tliought of the Sanitary 
Commission, and its work. 1 could give many valuable' testimo- 
nies to the fidelity and efliciency of the Commission. Said the 
chaplain of a Delaware regiment, "I have tried the Sanitaiy 
Commission, and know that its action -is wise and beneficent." 
Said a surgeon just from the battle fields of Antietam, "'0 the 
suffering there, and but lor the hospital supplies of the Connnis- 
sion which were there — twenty-five four-horse wagon loads of them, 
two days before the government supplies came — the suficring and 
death would have been still more terrible." 

Let the importance of such prompt service be considered. 
What must be two days after a terrible battle with no liospital 
supplies ! The Commission saved many lives, and relieved shock- 
ing suffering. 

At the battle of Pittsburgh Landing, as the evening of the iirst 
dreadful day came, with exhaustion, slaughter, and repulse, a com- 
pany of surgeons and their assistants began their work. The 
Govei'nment hospital supplies were not on hand, and for want 
of them, seven poor fellows died, one after another, under the 
surgeon's hands. At that very hour, a vessel steamed up to the 
Landing, laden with U. S. Saifitary Commission's hospit^il stores. 
The surgeons obtained chloroform, ether, restoratives, all things 
I'equisite, and continued their work through the night, and not 
another subject died under their hands. 

Said Dr. Bliss, who was Medical Inspectoi- ol' Division on the 
Peninsuhi, and is now at the head of the Armory Hospital, the 
best ol' all the hospital:^ I saw, "I say to eveiybody, work for 



10 

the relief of the sick and wounded soldiers, through the agency 
of the Sanitary Commission. I know their action ; wherever I 
have been, they have come with their aid ; ;ind whatever I have 
needed they have given me if they had it. It is the best way 
of helping the suffering soldiers. There are piles of boxes, and 
the ruins of goods, lying al)out here in tlic District, and in Vir- 
ginia, sent by somebody and to somebody^ but they have failed to 
reach their destination, and are wasted and lost. The Sanitary 
Commission puts the goods committed to it, right where they are 
needed." This is valuable testimony. 

But peo23le desire to help their own — every city or county or 
state its own regiments — every mother her own son. It is natu- 
ral to look to those we know best and love most ; but such dis- 
criminations arc not always possible, and often arc hardly gener- 
ous. Goods may be sent to a regiment for its hospital, stores of 
good things, and the receipt of them may be acknowledged, and 
the donors rejoice in their charity, but the next day that regiment 
may march on an hour's notice, and be compelled to leave and 
lose all but bare necessities, Onondaga Count}^ sent stores of 
good things to their regiments, and once their good things 
were left behind on a sudden march, and again, what they had 
was burned, so that it shoidd not fall into the hands of the enemy. 
In a late report the Secretary of the Commission saj-s: "The San- 
itary Commission, at the rcc[uest of General Ilalleck, Commander- 
in-Chief of the Armies of the United States, most earnestly ad- 
vises against the practice of sending presents to soldiers of articles 
which it is supposed will add to the convenience of their camp- 
life. To the knowledge of the Commission, many hundred tons 
of such in-csents are now piled uselessly in storehouses and yards, 
and upon old camp gi'ounds ; while thousands have probably 
been destroyed to i)revent their lalling into the hands of the 
enemy, and but a small part of all that have been received by those 
to whom they were addressed have been of the smallest value t6 
them, except as tokens of the affectionate interest of their friends." 

Surgeons try to make regimental hospitals what the army regu- 
lations do not contemplate, and send home for supplies, which are 
impediments to quick movements, and whieli are liable to be left 



I 



I 



11 

Iichind and lost. Gen. Ilallcck says that the cflieieney of our army 
is greatly hindered by the too full outfit, and supplies of good things 
sent to soldiers from llieir honlc^^. They cannot move witli celer- 
ity when their camps arc clogged with bales and boxes. It is best 
that the g<^vcrnment should lie left to feed and clothe the well 
men. In general this is done generonsly. High authorities say, 
that no army in the world was ever more amply provided for, 

It is said, that when a scout reported to Stonewall Jackson that 
a Union army was npproaching Fredenck, Md., and that a drove 
of cattle was seen following the army; Jackson said, "let them 
come, I care not how many, I can conc[uer any army, that cannot 
march to battle without a drove of cattle at their heels.'' 

For the sick and wounded we cannot do too much, so long as we 
do the right things. Let the inuuificcncego through the Sanitary 
Commission ; they have the means to follow the armies with their 
supplies, and if enough is given them, tliey will distrilmte for the 
relief of all. Partial, limited charity is not good. Said Dr. Bliss, 
" every day I see the bad eifects of helping one, and leaving other 
poor fellows all around to feel neglected. Vermont comes and 
gives good things to her man, and there in the next bed is a son 
of New Hampshire, who looks on and com})lains that he is not 
cared for." Let the universal brotherhood in this crisis secure 
universal aid — as far as possible, relief for every sufferer. This the 
Sanitary Commission would help us do. It knows no narrow dis- 
criminations, but woi'ks for the good of all. 

The Commission has tlie coniidcnce of the Government. While 
I was in AVashington the l^residcnt recei\'ed a telegram from San 
Francisco, saying, " the ladies of California would give as much 
as the men to relieve the sick and wounded soldiers — to whom 
should they send it?" The President sent for the Surgeon Gen- 
eral, and they sent back word, " send the money to the Sanitary 
Commission" — and I believe that $60^000 are on the way, in ad- 
dition to the $100,000 from California already received. After 
the great battles in Maryland, an order was sent from the field to 
the President of the Commission in New York, to send $20,000 
worth of shirts and drawers. Tliey could not In^ had at once. The 
Purveyor of the IL S. A. in the city h;id about that amount of 



such clolhiag: but lie know that he coukl not send it I'orwaril hi 
season, because all the Government trains were loaded down with 
meat and l)read for the fighting men, and with iron and lead, and 
powder ; so he deli\'ered the goods to the Commission, and they 
sent them through by their own trains, and in three days ihey 
were on the suffering men. 

Let it not be thought that the Sanitary Commission have money 
enough, or goods enough. Their supplies go as fast as they come, 
l^lieir expenditures for transportation, for vessels, for baggage wag- 
on trains, for buying food and clothing when their supplies fail, 
are very large. Their Board of Medical Inspection costs heavily, 
though some of the inspectors scarcely have their living, while 
they are wearing out their lives amidst Imrdship and exposure. 

The Commission has ucv^er been so well prepared to be largely 
useful as now ; its agencies are established, it has learned to do 
the work that has come to its hands ; the sick and the wounded 
have become a great multitude, and need increasing care and 
bounties ; the supplies, though coming in eveiy da}^ with such 
large generosity, are kept very low, and meantime large demands, 
for future need, are probable and imminent. Since the first edi- 
tion of this report, the following emphatic and urgent letter has 
been received from the President of the Commission : 

*" The cause grows more needy every day. T'he cries for 
aid arc more urgent and heart-rending. AH we can do leaves 
enormous suffering behind, and many arc so blind as to hold us 
responsible for the misery we have not the means to alle^'iate. 
We are all the while y«/%ec^ hij loJiat we do not do; not as we 
should be, by what we do. No matter if we relieve 10,0(X) — if 
there remain 5,000 unrelieved it is our fault ! as if any volunteer- 
ing, self-sustaining agenc}', could do all this.'' 

In view of all tliese facts, who, in village, or city, or country, 
will give through the Sanitarj^ Commission lor the relief of the 
sick and wounded soldiers? The Commission can do nothing- 
alone ; the great streams of its noble munificence are made by ten 
thousand little rills — let every rill swell to a brook, and every 
brook to a river. 



To show the work utthe U. S. Sanitary Oouuiiissiou. we give the following letter 
written by Dr. Agncw, a member of the Commission. The letter ia extracted from 
a late Report, and is only one of many like comninnications from battle field.* : 

S.WITART COM.\lISSION- DePOT. 

Frederick, Md., September 22d, 18(52. 

My Dear Sir, — I cannot now give you a report of all our doings since la.'st Wed- 
nesday night, but it will give you joy to know (hat we have given some aid and 
comfort to over fire ilioHsand wounded. J left Washington, as you know, on Wed- 
nesday at midnight. Arriving at the break in the railroad at Monocacy, Dr. Harris 
and Iwalked on to Frederick, \yhero I found Dr. Steincr. our Inspector, working 
with great zeal and ellicieucy. The demand for our supjilies was so pressing that 
it was thouplit best lo open a slorehouse at once, and Dr. Sleiiu'r procured one near 
the railroad station, in anticipation of the reconstruction of the bridge over the Mo- 
nocacy, and the resumption of steam transportation. Frederick will be the great 
depot for the wounded, whence they will be distributed to Washington and Balti- 
more. and hence the necessity of giving Dr. Steincr largo su))plies of hospital stores. 
Dr. Harris remained at Frederick to hasten up supj)lies, and I pushed on on horse- 
back with Dr. Vollum to Middletown, and quartered with a clergyman of the Dutch 
Reformed iiersuasion. I was thoroughly wet. and aKhough compelled to sleep in 
my wet clothes, did not suffer. I found Dr. Thompson, Assistant Surgeon, acting 
Medical Director, at Middletown, and all the churches and public buildings filled 
with the wounded of Sunday's battle. 

I was greatly delighted by the evidences of Dr. Thompson's efficiency and human- 
ity. Dr. Letterraan. McClellan's Medical Director, had left Dr. Thompson at Mid- 
dletown, with full power to act, and by so doing certainly made a most unexception- 
able selection of an oflicer to perform most delicate and onerous duties. Fifteen 
hundred uf our wounded have enjoyed his humane and self-denying ministrations. 

No additional medical supplies having arrived for Dr. Thompson, I desired him 
to take tliem from the Sanitary Comnussion wagons as they came. He had previ- 
ously obtained many essential articles of food, &c., from our advanced train. I left 
him twenty-live dollars to be used in purchasing such things as we had not,' to re- 
plenish his deficient stores. Early on Friday morning I went on to Keedysville. 
and to General McClellan's head-quarters. About noon (Friday, 19th) Dunning 
arrived with his wagon, and early on tho evening of Friday, Mitchell and his train 
of wagons : on Saturday morning Dr. Brink and Mr. Peverly arrived, and now our 
stores of stiumlants, condensed food, bandages, etc., became abundant. 

Dunning and mj'self went out with stores of beef-stock, stimulants, and surgical 
dressing.*, as soon as he arrived, and visited barns and farm hou.ses within a mile 
and a half from head-quarter.«, and carried some relief to nearly two thousand 
wounded. Everywhere we were asked for chloroform and opiates, in.strumcnts and 
bed-pans, and eveiything, in fact, required for the wounded, except the coarser food 
furni.shed by the Commissary, and the comforts provided to the extent of their abil- 
ity by the inhabitants, who had been previously nearly stripped by the rebel.s. 

It should be remembered that .so rapid was the movement of the army through 
Washington after the disaster and losses of the Virginia campaign, that the regimen- 
tal and brigade and division medical officers, could not, lo any considerable extent, 
replenish tiieir exhausted supplies. 

The medical supplies sent to meet the emergency on Wednesday, did not begin 
to arrive on the battle-field until Saturday afternoon, and then in small quantity, 
and entirely inadequate. !Many of the same supplies are still here, (at Frederick.) 
awaiting transportation, while (he Commission has bad at least four wagon trains 
sent to the front (hat left Washiugton subsequent to Wednesday afternoon, in addi- 
tion to two sent 1)eforeiu anticipaiion of the battle. You can estimate at your office 
(he number of wagons Ave have sent forward, including Hay's trains, which will be 
on the baltle field this afternoon. As soon as Brink and Mitchell and Parsons ar- 
lived on the battle field, I sent them over radii, previously ascertained to be within 
the circle of the late battles. They will be able to state ]iersonally the fields of their 
operations, as I desired them to keep notes. I left Dunning's wagon — in fact all the 
two-horse wagons and ambulances of our train — constantly going, and carrying re- 
lief tfl thousands of woimded. 

The v^'ounded were mainly clustered about barns, occupying the barn-yards, and 



14 

flooi*:-;, and stables, havin.^ plenty of p;oo(l straw. w(^ll broken liy tlio power threshing 
machine. I .saw til'teon hundred wounded men lyin_:i- upon the siraw about two 
barns, within sight of each other ! Indeed, there i.s not a barn, or farm-house, or 
store, or school-house, between Boone.sborou}j;h, Keedysville, and Sharpsljurgh. and 
the latter and vSmoketown, that is not gorged with wounded — rebel and union. Even 
the corn-cribs, and in many instances the cow-stables, and in one place the mangers 
were filled. Several thousands lie; in the open air upon straw, and all are receiving 
the kind services of the farmers' families and the surgeons. 

I hope I never shall forget the evidences everywhere manifested of the unselfish 
and devoted heroism of our surgeons, regular and volunteer, in the care of lioth 
Federal and rebel wounded. Wiierever I went, I encountered surgeons and chap- 
lains who had given themselves no rest in view of the overwhelming claims of suf- 
fering humanity ; General AlcClelian's Medical Director had several times been over 
the field, and given personal direction to the laI)ors of the .surgeons, and Dr. Ranch. 
U. S. A., and others, were everywhere actively engaged. 

General McClellan moved his headquarters from Keedysville on Saturday to 
Sharps!)urgh. Just here I cannot avoid tntroducing an illustration of the pressing 
necessity of some means of independent transportation for the medical officers. 
Everything was carried away to the new camp ground within two hours after the 
tents were struck — except the medical stores — they remained a .solitary pile in the 
midst of a deserted camp, for nearly twenty-four hours awaiting transportation. 

Our plans, so far, are working splendidly, thanks to the vigor with which you at 
■Washington hare crowded forward sujiplies, and the aid given by Dr. Letterman 
and his medical officers. Wc; have been ahead of every one, and at least two days 
ahead t)f the sujiplies of the Medical lUiicau; the latter fact due to ils want of inde- 
pendent transportation. A single item will show the value of our supplies; we have 
given out over thirty pounds of chloroform within three days after the battle. The 
medical authorities had not one hundredth part of what was needed, and in many 
l)laces ira]iortant operations were necessarily neglected and life lost. Our chloroform 
saved at hnM fifty Ures, and saved several hundred from the jndn of severe operationn. 
The want of chloroform was the most serious deficiency in the regular medical sup- 
plies, and as the result, amputations which should have been primary will now be 
secondary or impossible. (The mortality from secondary amputatians is very much 
greater than from primary.) 

But everything in the way of medical stipplies was deficient; poor fellows, with 
lacerated and broken thighs, had to be carried out of barns into the open fields to 
answer a call of natun;; men, suli'ering the agony of terrible wounds, were without 
opiates; tournicpiets were wanting in many instances; stimulants very deficient; con- 
centmted food also scanty; in, fact, everything was wanting that wounded men need, 
except a place to lie down, and the attentions of personally devoted surgeons, (with- 
out proper stores, however.) The deficiency was greater than usual for two reasons 
— one, the hurry of the army in passing from a camjiaign in whicli everything in the 
way of sup])lies was exhausted or lost ; the other, the obstruction of the Monocacy, 
and the want of indejjendent transportation on the part of the Bureau, which would 
have enabled it to send by the turnpike. Some I)lame for the non-arrival of the 
medical stores, lies in the fact that of all the surgeons, forty or more, no one 
considered himself charged with the function of hurrying anything forward but him- 
self ; the result being, that plenty of surgeons got upon the ground, but almost des- 
titute of necessary appliances; this I also attribute, not so much to the want of zeal 
on the part of the surgeons, or of ability to lecognize tlu^ emergency, but to the in- 
ability on the part of the Central Bureau to command the necessary transportation. 
I venture to say. that nearly every barn and hospital, and cluster of wounded over 
the wide extent of the late military operations, embracing a circle of nearly thirty 
miles, was receiving most essential relief from the Commission while the regular 
medical stores lay at Monocacy Bridge. I solemnly affirm that great loss of life has 
occiuTcd and will occur, among the wounded, as the direct result of an inability on 
the part of the medical authorities to furnish, by ra))id and independent means of 
transportation, the surgical and medical appliances needed within the two days im- 
mediately subsequent to the battles. 

Yours, most siucerely, 

C. R. AGNEW. 



J^ LIST 0:F STJIPIPXjIES 

W^ANTED FOR THE HOSPITALS. 



1. Cotton Shirts, l^-and 1 yard loiii;-; 2 broadtlis of unUeaclied Cotton, 
I yard wido, open 9 inches at the bottom; length of Sleeve,-^- yard; 
length of Arm-hole, 12 inches; length of Collar, 20 inches; open in front, 
fiistened with buttons. About one-third may be made of this size, the 
remainder one and two sizes smaller. 

2. Flannel hospital Undershirts — two breadths llannel, gusset, at the 
neck, narrow neck-band. 

3. Cotton Drawers, ordinary size and make. 

4. Woollen Drawers, ordinary size and make, 

5. Dressing-Gowns of double Calico, without wadding. 
C. Socks, woollen. 

7. Slippei-s, a poi-tion should luive leather soles. 

8. Handkerchiefs, good size, (can be made of old linen.) 

9. Bandages, cotton or linen, willioiit selvages, shrunk, tightly rolled 

and pinned. 

1 inch wide, 1 yard long. 

2^ inches wide, 3 yards long. 
3^ inches wide, 5 yards long. 

2 inches wide, 3 yards long. 

3 inches Avide, 4 yards long. 

4 inches wide, G yards long. 

Many more Bandages 2 inches and 2^ inches in width, should be made 
than either wider or narrower. 

If pieced, the raw edges should l.>e laid one over the other, J!at, and 
tightly sewed. 

10. Second-Hand Coats, Pantaloons, Drawers, Shirts, Boots, and Shoes. 

11. Quilts; Blankets; Bed-ticks; Pillow-ticks; Pillows; Cushions; Cocoa; 
Chocolate; Broma; Cider and Malt Liij^uors. A great want of quilts or 
comforters. 

EDIBLES. 

1. AiTowroot, Farina, Sago, Tapioca, Corn Starch, Oatmeal. 

2. Tart Jellies. 

3. Dried Fruit, particularly Apples and Peaches. 

4. Pickles. 

5. Tea. 

6. Firkins of Butter. 

7. Blackberry Syrup. 



16 

Wines, Syrups, etc., should be packed in separate small boxes, which 
may be put within large cases of clothing, if more convenient and eco- 
nomical. Jellies should be covered Avith cloth pasted over the mouth of 
the jar. Bottles should have the cork tied or sealed over. They should 
be packed in sawdust, as firmly as possible. When packed with clothing 
they ha\-e sometimes been broken and ujiset. Everv bottle sliouM be 
labeled. 

On the top of the contents of each box, under the cover, a list < -f what 
it contains, with the name of the donor, should be placed ; a duplicate of 
this list should be sent by mail. An'angements for free transportation 
should be made, or freight paid in advance. 

No more lint is wanted, and the societies who have been so industriously 
engaged preparing it, can pare and diy apples. All dried fruit is greatly 
needed in the hospitals. It can be sent in bags, marked to be kept dry. It 
is not desirable to send toasted bread as it becomes mouldy, and the expense 
of transportation is loo great. Small firkins of butter are very acceptable. 

Boxes intended for Washington should be plainly directed as follows: — 



U. S. SANITARY COMMISSION. 

WASHINGTON, D. C. 

* Care of F. L. OLMSTED, Esq. 



Boxes intended for the Branch Commissions at New York, should ba 
addressed : 

Woman s Relief Association, 

Cooper Institute, New York. 
I' or Buffalo : 

General Aid Society for the Army, 

No. 2 Adams Block, Washington St., 

Buffalo, N. T. 
For Cleveland : 

Soldiers' Aid Society, 

No. 95 Bank Street, Cleveland, 0. 

j^" No packages or l)oxes, addressed to individuals, will be forwarded. 



b 



II 



